Mangroves, a new haven for bootleggers

Illicit country-made liquor business, which was the main source of income of the underworld in 1970s, seems to be on a revival mode.

Manufacturing of spurious liquor is fast becoming a sunrise industry in the mangrove swamps off the Bandra coast.


Spurious liquor is manufactured in the mangrove swamps off the Bandra coast

Huge quantities of daru is brewed in the marshy land, surrounded by thick mangrove shrubs. The inhospitable terrain is beyond the reach of the local police as they are little interested in venturing out into the troubled seas.

The desi brands of sara or jamun liquor brewed from rotten fruits, vegetables and acidic items are sold in some of the selected dens in the up-market Khar and Bandra areas.

These startling facts came to light after the police arrested two elderly women from the Khar-Danda area in connection with selling of illicit liquor. They had filled the liquor in tractor tubes.
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The kingpin has been identified as Chandra-kanth Durge, who is wanted in several bootlegging cases.

The incident came to light on January 11 when two beat marshals, while patrolling in Khar-Danda, sniffed liquor in the area.
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After getting suspicious, they started searching the area and soon barged inside the house from where the smell was emanating.

They spotted accused Vithabai Harishchandra Dobra (60) and Motubai Harish-chandra Dobra (60) emptying around 40 litres of liquor from a tractor tube into the plastic cans.
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The women were taken into police custody.

During the questioning, the accused revealed that Durge makes and smuggles liquor in and around the Carter Road mangroves.

The Khar police had registered a case against Durge, who had sold around 94 litres of liquor to one Hansraj in the same area.u00a0 Durge is said to be running the illicit liquor business for years.

According to the police, Durge smuggles liquor in several parts of the city.

"Liquor smuggling had almost become a thing of the past, but the malpractice seems to be picking up again. One of the main reasons of the revival of bootlegging is lax rules. There is no harsh punishment for bootlegging.
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Besides this, the accused easily get bail in such cases which in a way encourages them to resume their illicit business," said a police officer requesting anonymity.

When MiD DAY contacted additional commissioner of police (west region) Amitabh Gupta and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) KMM Prasanna for their views on the incident, the duo refused to comment.

Senior Police Inspector Mangesh Pote of the Khar police station was also not available for comments.

Rs 120
Cost of a one-litreu00a0bottle of country-made liquor

Ek Cutting!
Country maal
Money from illicit liquor dens or 'country' was the main sources of income of Mumbai's underworld. Gangster Chhota Rajan's mentor Bada Rajan was bootlegger in Tilak Nagar before the gang moved to contract killings. Dozens of specialist drivers were hired to cart the liquor from the distillery to the selling outlets in the early 1970s.